OPENING NIGHT RALLY INFORMATIONThe Opening Night Rally will be held outside Scottrade Center and is presented by Bud Light and FOX Sports Midwest. The rally begins at 5:30 p.m. and will feature music from Paint the Earth and appearances by Blues Alumni, broadcasters, Louie and Blue Crew. The Bud Light Bar will also be outside at the rally, with TVs tuned to the Cardinals / Pirates NLDS game. FOX Sports Midwest will broadcast live from the rally beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Fans will want to be in their seats by 7:15 p.m. for our Opening Night pregame show as we introduce our 2013-14 team. Blues Executive Vice President and Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull will drop the puck before the game.

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PREDATORS (0-0-0) at BLUES (0-0-0)

TV: FS-TN, FS-MW

Season series: This is the first of five meetings this season between the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. The Blues won three of four games against the Predators in 2012-13, though they were actually outscored by Nashville in the series by a 9-8 margin.

Big story: As a result of the NHL's realignment for the 2013-14 season, the Central Division looks completely different than it did a year ago, but the Predators and Blues will be seeing some familiar faces when they open their respective campaigns Thursday night. For the Blues, the ultimate goal of finally winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup starts against Nashville, while the Preds will look to get a strong start to a season they hope will see them return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Team Scope:

Predators: For the first time in four years, the Predators got to work on their golf game last spring. That isn't the situation coach Barry Trotz's team wants to be in this season. While Nashville has been one of the most consistently competitive teams in the League over the last decade, last season's abbreviated campaign was one of transition, as the Preds tried to adapt to life without defenseman Ryan Suter, who signed with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent.

Suter's absence paved the way for Roman Josi to show himself as one of the best young defensemen in the League en route to earning a seven-year, $28 million extension. In addition, Nashville selected potential franchise cornerstone defenseman Seth Jones No. 4 in the 2013 NHL Draft. With Jones, Josi, Shea Weber and goalie Pekka Rinne, the Predators could be set at the back end for the next decade.

Blues: The Blues start the season with a luxury few teams are afforded, a five-game homestand. That doesn't mean those games will be easy. After starting off the season against Nashville, a team that has missed the postseason just twice in the last nine seasons, the Blues will play three of their next four games against teams on the short list of Stanley Cup contenders.

Still, the Blues have the look of a team that can withstand the rigors of a heavyweight-laden opening schedule. Last season their 24.2 shots against per game was the second-lowest figure in the League. St. Louis has a deep group of forwards, but there is hope Magnus Paajarvi, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for David Perron, could help improve an offense that was in middle of the pack last season. Paajarvi, the 10th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, has dynamic offensive skills, but after honing his all-around game to crack into a crowded lineup of forwards with the Oilers, he could bring benefits to St. Louis in several areas.

Injury report: Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (hip) is expected to start Thursday. Forwards Filip Forsberg (lower body) and Patric Hornqvist (lower body) are both questionable while forward Viktor Stalberg (shoulder sprain) is out until late October. ... The Blues should be fully healthy for opening night.

I feel good about this game, but as always, Rinne is the great equalizer. Get to him early. If we can't do that, we'll be rolling 4 lines so hopefully we can wear 'em down and snatch the game in the 3rd.

Damn people in my office are uppity. Didn't the stickball team already play like 162 games?

It's Opening Night!!!

I've got my Cardinals gear on right now. In all fairness, they play first today...and I'm going to watch the game at 4pm with some guys from work...so...But then it's home to watch the Blues game, where my daughter and I will be sporting Blues jerseys and watching the game.

My dad got furloughed so he drove all the way down from detroit (have not seen my dad in little over a year) to visit my kids and tonight we are going to watch the game together! So its a pretty exciting game 1 for me!

Unfortunately I'll be missing all Blues games and all other events in the world for the rest of the week. Fortunately, I'll be camping and fishing in northern Oregon. Kick some ass guys! For those of you going to the game, have fun, get hammered, and don't let the Predators touch our boys!

Good game. Rinne done in 10 mins. Offense solid overall (with an assist from sloppy Pred D). Defense was pretty mediocre for much of the game but seemed to pick it up as the game went along. What I like about that is that I know our D will be fine, but hopefully tonight is a little bit of a sign that the offense is improved. Can't read too much into offense having a good game this early in the season, but it was still nice to see.

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